Youngsters hoping careers will take off at the airport
Plenty of 16 to 18-year olds would happily come to East Midlands Airport (EMA) to jet off with family or pals for fun in the sun.
But twelve local youngsters are turning up every day during their summer holidays and going nowhere. However, they aren’t downhearted as they are hoping their careers will go somewhere thanks to the hands-on experience they are gaining.
The group all attend Aviation Management and Travel & Tourism courses run by Loughborough, Derby and Nottingham Colleges and have been selected as cadets at EMA. Out of term time, this involves joining the airport’s Customer Ambassadors, a 17-strong team of staff who help customers in a number of ways.
They will often be found in the busiest parts of the airport, or during any disruption to flights, to be on hand to provide friendly help and advice. They also help with queue management, assist customers using passport e-gates and signpost people to airport facilities.
Cadets may also be placed with the Assisted Travel team, which provides one-to-one assistance for those who need it on their journey through the airport and onto their aircraft.
As the cadets undertake the same training as staff in these roles, and gain valuable experience during their holidays, EMA is able to offer them jobs at the airport once they have completed their courses. Out of the twelve cadets who attended the airport last year, nine are now in full-time employment at EMA. It’s hoped that they will go on to take up other roles at the airport such as duty managers or security officers.
EMA’s Head of Customer Services Chris Drury said: “This is a great scheme which really is a win-win – the cadets gain great real-life experience and responsibilities in a working environment, and we gain some extra hands to help our Customer Ambassador and Assisted Travel teams at the busiest times of year for us.
“Ultimately they can, and often do, choose to come and work here which obviously benefits us as well as them.”
Two of this year's intake are hoping their placement will result in full-time jobs at the airport after college.
William Mellor said: “Some days we will do assisted travel helping passengers through the airport and other days we will be ambassadors helping people on the e-gates when they land back.”
Elizabeth Ford added: “We get to help people through the airport every day, meeting new people and putting smiles on everyone's faces.”